My Hero Romance: Chapter Twenty-Nine
{| Chapter Twenty-Nine Everything was fine. Everything was going great. She remembered that much. She remembered looking at Toshinori for back up, for refuge, but then he was gone. He was bent over trying to save someone from slipping beneath the cracks of the ruined school. She didn’t think it’d be like this. She didn’t think it would end like this. She didn’t think the villains would take out Hieronymus so quickly. She didn’t think it Akihisa would be decommissioned for the fight. Now, she could only look at him with disdain, with such hatred that he knew better than to approach. She saw the pain in his eyes, the fear, the shame. She saw it all and she was the cause of it. He deserved it, didn’t he? He did let her Mom die so he had no right to be remorseful, he had no right to be anywhere near her. He brought this on to himself, he shouldn’t expect to get forgiveness or her love after doing something so stupid. She’s dead, Hieronymus is in a coma, Akihisa is badly injured and all that Toshinori could offer was a simple apology. What did he take her for? Toshinori on the other hand was not prepared for her rather quick change in attitude. He was scared, worried that she would hate him forever. In a way, he deserved her hatred for what he had lacked. He didn’t want her to hate him, but he was starting to understand why he stayed away from relationships for as long as he did. The ride home was deadly quiet. The usual chatter was gone and replaced with the quiet sobs of Katsuko as they drove back to the hotel. They were lucky to ride back in a limo type vehicle where Toshinori could sit all the way in the back, far away from Katsuko. The officers stood watch outside their room. They wouldn’t even let him into the room. He was something that could upset Katsuko further and so for a while, he was gone. He stayed somewhere else, usually remaining awake throughout the night to keep the guards company. When he was finally allowed to be in his hotel room, Katsuko would throw a fit each time he had gotten too close to her. A few times, she had even hit him. It hurt, but he should’ve seen this coming in the first place. It was day two of being here in a deafening silence and Toshinori felt like he was steadily losing his mind. Seeing Katsuko so hurt because of him made him feel worthless in his true form, so he made an effort of being All Might as often as he could around her and sometimes because he felt comforted by the people complimented his muscles or fawned over him. He slept on the couch which did not comfort his pain, but it was a lot better than not sleeping in a room at all. He had another nightmare about Emilie. She was right there. She was right in front of him, a touching distance away. He couldn’t even save her. What kind of hero is he? What gave him the right to think he could have something else other than a life of heroics? Toshinori wondered what would happen if he just gave up on this relationship, if they could even call it that. Sure, Akihisa would want him dead, but at least he wouldn’t cause any more pain to Katsuko. He brushed those thoughts away and stood up, leaving the room to go down to one of the nearby restaurants. He didn’t care much for the food, it wasn’t as good when you were hurting inside, but many could debate that. He went there to get his mind off of Emilie, but it just seemed to him that he had done more damage than anything. Hieronymus went through more than he did. He had to fight his own daughter and here he is complaining about Katsuko being mad at him. He called himself a hero. The walk back up to his room was rather uneventful as it usually was, he only stopped to greet the guards before going back inside to silence. The aura of the suite brought him more sadness and he crashed on the couch. He stayed there for the night. By morning, he felt a surge of hope and was determined to help Katsuko even if she wanted to throw things at him. He started with getting her her favorite burger.